“Will you be at the dinner?”
He shifted. “I’ll probably be invited, but Maggie, my sister-in-law, will cook a meal fit for a king, so I’ll spend the evening with my family.”
Her face brightened. “Will your sisters be there too?”
“My sisters?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s right. I was going to introduce you. No. They won’t be in Sitka, not today at least. But word will be sent to Juneau, where they live, and they’ll probably be here to visit by week’s end. If you’re still here, you can, um, you can come over for lunch.”
Something about his words made his chest tighten. All too easily, he could see Bryony sitting at the table in his family’s kitchen, drinking tea that Evelina made and answering Kate while she narrowed her eyes and peppered Bryony with a hundred different questions.
Just like he could see her walking down the beach with him, dressed in a shimmery green gown that brought out the green in her eyes and made her hair look like flames.
He didn’t need either of those images in his mind.
Because she was going back to Washington, DC, where she was going to get her journal published.
And he was staying here, where he would go on another expedition next summer.
Back when he’d told her that he would introduce her to his sisters, he’d been trying to encourage her, to show her she could find a way to do what she loved, even if she was a woman.
But that was before... before...
Before what? Just what was this thing growing between him and a woman he’d never see again?
And why was he letting it grow?
“Do you think we’ll still be here when your sisters come?” Hope laced Bryony’s voice. “I imagined that whoever is coordinating our departure would send us home as soon as possible.”
His throat felt suddenly dry. “They might send you home right away. It’s possible we could even hold theAurorafor you so you can leave on it in the morning, though you’d have to stop by Juneau and Wrangell before going to Seattle. But that’s not much of a detour.”
“I can tell by the sound of your voice that you don’t think we’ll be leaving that quickly.”
“Considering Richard’s death, no. People will have questions. They’ll want those answered and their reports properly filled out before sending you home.”
“I see.” She shifted, turning her head to look out at the water. The movement caused the wind to catch a strand of her hair and plaster it to her face.
He nearly reached out to tuck it behind her ear, just like he had last night, right before he’d kissed her. But he stopped himself. They were about to dock in Sitka. He couldn’t just up and touch her whenever he pleased.
She swiped the hair away from her face, her eyes meeting his for a fraction of a second. And all he could do was wonder if she was thinking the same thing he was—that had they still been in the wilderness, he would have set her hair to rights. And maybe he’d kiss her for a third time.
“Will you stay here for the winter?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but a shout from the wheelhouse cut him off, the captain issuing orders as the ship slowed and angled toward the open wharf directly in front of his family’s warehouse.
People on land had already lined up to greet the ship, and he spotted his three brothers among them.
“Alexei!” He waved his arms.
“Mikhail?” Alexei’s familiar voice rang over the water. “Thank heavens!”
Mikhail made his way toward where the gangway would soon be lowered. Two crewmen had already removed the boards in the deck where the gangway was stored, and Mikhail helped them heft it out while other crewmen threw ropes overboard to those on the wharf.
The moment the gangway was in place, Alexei was the first one to board the ship and wrap him in a hug. Mikhail sank into the familiar feel of his brother’s arms.
“You’re home.” Alexei pulled back just far enough to grab his shoulders and look him over. Then he shook his head. “I swear you look healthier than you did when you left. We were worried. With you leaving so late in the year, and the early snow we’ve had?—”
“I’m fine.” Mikhail nodded toward where the Wetherby family and Dr. Ottingford stood on the deck. “It took me longer to find the team than I expected, and we lost two members. Jack was the first, in a grizzly attack before I found the team. The second was under my watch. Richard Caldwell. He fell while crossing a canyon.”
Alexei’s eyebrows raised. “The Caldwell who was on the expedition died?”
